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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
Bin Laden cohorts said in arms quest
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Islamic extremists linked to Osama bin Laden are seeking chemical or
biological weapons and even nuclear arms that could be used in future
attacks, intelligence specialists say.
A U.S. intelligence official said yesterday there are reports that bin
Laden's organization has acquired some type of nuclear device.
"Osama bin Laden and his network have shown a strong interest in
[chemical weapons]," said former CIA intelligence chief John Gannon.
Mr. Gannon stated at a recent conference on terrorists' use of weapons
of mass destruction that the number of extremist groups seeking biological
and chemical arms is increasing.
"We know that bin Laden's organization has attempted to develop
poisonous gases that could be fired at U.S. troops in Gulf states," said Mr.
Gannon, who now works with Intellibridge, a private firm.
Commenting on future dangers, Mr. Gannon stated: "If you don't get hit
by a North Korean ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) over the next
five years, chances are you will suffer a horrible, premature death when
Osama bin Laden poisons your hometown water supply."
Vince Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism official, said bin
Laden and his networks have gone into hiding since Tuesday's attacks, fearing
retaliatory strikes from the United States.
There have been intelligence reports indicating that bin Laden
associates training in Afghanistan have been trying to develop chemical
weapons, U.S. officials say.
In 1999, bin Laden stated that his followers should "seek to possess the
weapons that could counter those of the infidels'" and that doing so was a
religious duty.
Other attacks could be in the works, according to U.S. intelligence
officials. However, counterterrorism specialists believe it is unlikely that
future attacks will be like Tuesday's hijacking-suicide aircraft strikes.
Security measures will be increased to make such attacks more difficult,
driving terrorists to seek other targets and methods.
Bin Laden's indiscriminate and large-casualty attacks show he is a prime
candidate to use weapons of mass destruction, Mr. Cannistraro said. "Is he
willing to do that? Obviously, he keeps escalating the terrorist operations
he pulls."
Bin Laden-linked terrorists have been blamed for the embassy bombings in
Africa in 1998, the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, and now for three
successful attacks and an apparent failed one that involved a total of at
least 19 suicide bombers, Mr. Cannistraro said. He added that Bin Laden's
method is to never follow exactly the same pattern as the last attack, and
that indicates he may move to weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. Cannistraro said there are indications an Islamic front group in
Chicago tied to bin Laden has invested in a company that produces chlorine
for swimming pools. There are concerns the plant also could be used to
produce chemical arms, he said.
Mr. Gannon stated that the threat of terrorist attack using biological
or chemical weapons is "grave" because the problem has not been defined well
and federal authorities have not "joined forces to deal with it."
"We are, as a result, more open to a serious incident and to surprise in
general," Mr. Gannon said.
Deadly biological weapons, such as anthrax, can be developed with
minimal laboratory capabilities. It is more difficult to deploy them as
weapons.
Chemical weapons also can be produced with relative ease, as shown by
the 1995 subway attack with Sarin nerve agent developed by the Japanese group
Aum Shinri Kyo.
There is also evidence bin Laden's umbrella organization al-Qaeda, "the
Base," is seeking nuclear weapons. A 1998 FBI complaint made public in New
York stated that al-Qaeda has tried since 1993 to buy enriched uranium "for
the purpose of developing nuclear weapons."
The State Department's latest annual report on international terrorism
stated that the possibility of terrorist attacks using chemical, biological,
radiological, nuclear or large explosive weapons "remained real."
"Most terrorists continued to rely on conventional tactics, such as
bombing, shooting, and kidnapping, but some terrorists -- such as Osama bin
Laden and his associates -- continued to seek [chemical, biological,
radiological and nuclear] capabilities," the report said. Terrorists willing
to inflict large numbers of casualties may be attracted to such weapons, it
said.
Former State Department counterterrorism official Larry Johnson said bin
Laden may be seeking weapons of mass destruction but that actually getting
them and using them in terrorist attacks would be difficult. Still, "if
somehow he gets access to a weapon [of mass destruction], there is little to
prevent him from using it," he said.
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